The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Poster for the film
Directed by	Justin Lin
Produced by	Neal H. Moritz
Written by	Chris Morgan
Starring	Lucas Black Bow Wow Zachery Bryan Sung Kang Brian Tee Jason Tobin Leonardo Nam Nathalie Kelley Keiko Kitagawa Lucas Valeriano
Music by	Brian Tyler
Cinematography	Jan Kiesser Stephen F. Windon
Editing by	Dallas Puett Fred Raskin
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	June 16, 2006 September 16, 2006
Running time	104 min
Country	United States Japan
Language	English Japanese
Preceded by	2 Fast 2 Furious
Followed by	Fast and Furious

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Wild Speed X3 Tokyo Drift in Japan) is a 2006 film directed by Justin Lin and the third installment of The Fast and the Furious film series. The film features an all-new cast and a different setting (Tokyo, Japan) from the previous two films. The movie was shot in Tokyo and in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, the latter often covered with props and lights to create the illusion of the Tokyo style.

In the movie, Sean (Lucas Black), after getting himself into more trouble than he or his mother can get him out of, is sent to live with his father, a Navy officer who is stationed in Tokyo, Japan. Sean meets new friends and learns a new way to race, at the same time gaining a few enemies. Testing his patience and skill, he learns courage and gains respect from his friends, his father, and his girl, Neela (Nathalie Kelley).

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Featured cars 4 Reactions 4.1 Box office performance 4.2 Critical reaction 5 Production Notes 5.1 Cameos 5.2 Technical 6 Soundtrack 7 References

Plot

At the beginning of the movie, Sean (Lucas Black) gets into trouble with one of the local kids from his high school, Clay (Zachery Ty Bryan), for talking with his girlfriend, so she decides that the two race through a subdivision under construction for her attention, during which they both get injured. Deciding not to deal with moving again, Sean's mother sends him to Tokyo to live with his father, stationed in Japan as a U.S Naval Officer, after his incident in the United States almost lands him in jail. Sean is introduced into the world of drifting after a chance encounter with another expat, Twinkie (Bow Wow), a hustler who sells American goods to the Japanese.

However, Sean soon runs into Takashi (Brian Tee), also known as DK (short for Drift King), and his business partner Han (Sung Kang), who was born and raised in America. Sean is seen talking to Neela, one of DK's girls, and when DK tells him to back down, Sean challenges him to a race using Han's car, where Takashi ends up winning in a blowout – and Sean totaling Han's car. Afterwards, Han tells Sean that he will be working with him to pay off the car as well as representing him in future races. Sean later finds out more about his friends, namely Han, being involved in a business partnership with Takashi, a "wannabe" Yakuza mafia. Sean also finds out Han is letting him race because he is the only one who isn't afraid of Takashi, causing Han to refer to him as Takashi's 'kryptonite'.

Sean slowly gains a reputation in the drifting scene after some tutelage and support (both financial and friendship) from Han and his gang of "misfits." Sean also gets involved with Neela, spending time with her drifting for fun up a mountain, and his budding relationship with her puts him at odds with Takashi. Neela tells Sean that she and Takashi grew up together after her mother died, and, like Sean, she was considered an outcast. Takashi beats up Sean after seeing him with Neela, threatening him to stay away from her. Neela sees Sean's bruises and leaves Takashi in anger to be with Sean.

Takashi's uncle, Kamata, a high ranking Yakuza (portrayed by Sonny Chiba), told him that there is a discrepancy in the books, and that Han must be cheating them out of money. Takashi confronts Han and his group with this discrepancy, and Han, Sean, and Neela flee before Takashi deals with the money laundering. A car chase ensues through the Tokyo streets, with Takashi chasing Han. Takashi shoots at Han throughout the chase, causing Han's car to flip over Takashi. Han's car starts to leak gasoline from the crash, while Han is unable to move from his injuries. As Sean and Neela finally catch up to Han, the gasoline leaked from the car reaches a nearby fire, killing Han. Sean and Neela go back to Sean's father's house, and Takashi comes to take Neela and kill Sean, but Sean's father threatens Takashi with his own gun. Neela voluntarily goes on Takashi.

Sean attempts to make amends by appealing to Takashi's uncle, returning the money Han stole and offering to an "honor race", a duel where whoever loses is run out of town. The race is on a touge (mountain pass) that Takashi has the advantage on, since he's supposedly the only one to ever make it down to the bottom in one piece. Sean, Twinkie, and Han's crew work on a car (since all the rest were taken by the police), and use the engine from the first car Sean wrecked.

After a long race battle, Sean makes his way across the finish line, victorious, while Takashi survives a last-minute crash. DK's loss causes him to suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of Sean, whom Takashi still considers an "outsider". Takashi's uncle tells Sean he is free to go, and Takashi presumably leaves Tokyo. Neela goes back with Sean.

Later, Sean is the new Drift King and is hanging out in the underground parking lot from earlier in the film with Neela, and Twinkie comes up, saying someone wants to challenge him. The mystery car driver who pulls up is none other than Dominic Toretto (from the first Fast and the Furious movie). Toretto and Sean hold a brief conversation, with Toretto saying that Han once rode with him. Neela counts off the race, the cars take off, and the movie ends without disclosing the race results.

Cast

• Lucas Black - Sean
• Bow Wow - Twinkie
• Sung Kang - Han
• Brian Tee - Takashi (DK: Drift King)
• Nathalie Kelley - Neela

Featured cars

The following cars are featured in the film:^[1]

Car	Color/Engine,Transmission etc.	Year	Driven by	Condition/Fate in Film
APR Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR (Specially modified for rear wheel drive only)	Red/Black APR Sponsor Graphics	2006	Sean Boswell[2]	Driven by Sean when he was learning how to drift. Wrecked by the incoming car on the side while fleeing before Han died, triggering few more cars crashing.
Ford Mustang Fastback	Dark Green/White Stripes. 2001 Nissan Skyline RB26 Engine. 1998 Nissan Skyline 5 speed 2WD Transmission. Brackets and Pulleys are Custom Fabricated.	1967	Sean Boswell[3]	Battles with Takashi in the Touge races. Survives its run down the mountain with heavy damage.
Chevrolet Monte Carlo	Beige/Gray Primer ( Matte/Flat )	1970	Sean Boswell[4]	Rolled multiple times during race with Clay's Dodge Viper. Wrecked and landed upside down. Scrapped by Oro Valley Sheriff's Department following Sean's arrest.
C-West Nissan Silvia S15	Dark Blue/Orange	2000	Sean Boswell (originally Han)[5]	Major cosmetic and suspension damage due to Sean's inexperience with drifting. RB26DETT engine taken out of a Nissan Skyline GTR [2.6L Straight Six, Twin Turbo].
Veilside Mazda RX-8	Aqua/Blue/Black fade	2006	Neela[6]	First seen in the parking garage and later seen drifting up in the mountains.
Veilside #1 '02 Nissan 350Z	Grey with graphics	2006	Takashi[7]	Used by Takashi in the parking lot when he was racing with Sean. Flipped multiple times and fell off the mountain "Touge"several hundred feet down and landed upside down during the race with the 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback.
Veilside FORTUNE FD3S '97 Mazda RX-7	Black and Orange: House Of Kolor Paint PBC31 Sunset Orange Pearl. Engine Management System:APEXERA FC. HKS T04Z Turbo Kit. VEILSIDE Custom Intercooling Piping. NGK Racing Spark Plugs. Nissan GT-R Fuel Pump. ATS Carbon Clutch. VEILSIDE BUILT	2002	Han[8]	Wrecked after a side collision with a Mercedes-Benz S-Class and flipped upside down. Ruptured fuel lines leaked, ignited, and exploded, killing Han.
DRIFT Nissan Silvia S13	Medium Blue/White Side Stripes/DRFT on hood	1993	Virgil[9]
Dodge Viper SRT10	Red	2005	Clay	Collided at high speed with a large concrete pipe, completely destroying it.
Plymouth Road Runner GTX dubbed "HAMMER"	COLOR: BMW Sterling Gray, Nelson Racing Engines built 842hp supercharged stroker 500,	1970	Dominic Toretto	Ended the movie by racing Sean's Nissan Silvia.
Volkswagen Touran	Green with graphics	2004	Sean (owned by Twinkie)	Exhibited to Sean by Twinkie and later driven by Sean in the film. The car is inspired by The Hulk and is the car in which Sean drives to his introduction to Tokyo's Drift racing circuit.
Top Secret '02 Nissan 350Z	Yellow/Gold with Graphics	2006	Morimoto	Collided head-on with a dark green Toyota Aristo, damaging it extensively and causing a massive car pile-up, presumably killing Morimoto.

Reactions

Box office performance

Despite mixed reviews, Tokyo Drift brought in over $24 million on its opening weekend. The movie itself was in limited release in Japan (released under the name Wild Speed 3). As of January 28, 2007, the domestic box office take has totalled $62,514,415 with another $95,886,987 from the foreign box office, resulting in total receipts of $158,401,402.^[10] Tokyo Drift did, however, gross lower than its predecessor films.

Critical reaction

The film holds a rating of 34% on Rotten Tomatoes^[11] and a score of 46 out of 100 on Metacritic^[12]. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film, giving it three stars (out of four), saying that director Justin Lin "takes an established franchise and makes it surprisingly fresh and intriguing," adding that Tokyo Drift is "more observant than we expect" and that "the story [is] about something more than fast cars."^[13] Michael Sragow of the Baltimore Sun felt that "the opening half-hour may prove to be a disreputable classic of pedal-to-the-metal filmmaking."^[14] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said that "it's not much of a movie, but a hell of a ride."^[15]

Michael Medved gave Tokyo Drift one and a half stars (out of four) saying: "There’s no discernible plot [...] or emotion or humor."^[16] James Berardinelli from Reel Views also gave it one and a half stars out of four, saying: "I expect a racing film to be derivative. That goes with the territory. No one is seeing a Fast and the Furious movie for the plot. When it comes to eye candy, the film is on solid ground—it offers plenty of babes and cars (with the latter being more lovingly photographed than the former). However, it is unacceptable that the movie's action scenes (races and chases) are boring and incoherent. If the movie can't deliver on its most important asset, what's the point?"^[17]

Richard Roeper strongly criticized of the film, saying: "The whole thing is preposterous. The acting is so awful, some of the worst performances I’ve seen in a long, long time."^[18] Similarly, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said that Tokyo Drift "suffers from blurred vision, motor drag and a plot that's running on fumes. Look out for a star cameo—it’s the only surprise you'll get from this heap."^[19] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said: "[The main character] has no plan and no direction, just a blind desire to smash up automobiles and steal a mobster's girlfriend. [...] As for the racing scenes, who cares about the finesse move of drifting, compared to going fast? And who wants to watch guys race in a parking lot? For that matter, who wants to watch guys race down a mountain, with lots of turns?"^[20]

Production Notes

Cameos

Vin Diesel makes an uncredited appearance as Dominic Toretto (his character from the original Fast and the Furious film), claiming to be a friend of Han's. This will be explained in Fast and Furious, a sequel to The Fast and The Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious but a prequel to Tokyo Drift.

Real-life "Drift King" and drift pioneer Keiichi Tsuchiya also makes an appearance during the scenes where Lucas Black's character (Sean Boswell) is learning how to drift. He appears as an old fisherman who makes snide comments on Sean's lack of proper drift technique. Drift driver Rhys Millen can be seen talking to a Japanese couple during the transition from America to Japan

In the uncut edition of the film, Ben Sinclair makes a brief appearance as the famous drifting champion Quinn Jackson. Sean has a short conversation with Ben, whose wisdom helps inspire him to keep trying to make it in the Tokyo underground.

Technical

The RB26DETT motor found in the Nissan Skyline GTR, which powered the Mustang in the film, has been subject to much criticism by fans of both USDM cars and JDM cars. The criticism grew when it was revealed that the car itself barely had any screen time, and regular stunt Mustangs used for the drifting scenes were powered by 351cid Windsor V8 engines.^[21] Hot Rod Magazine lamented the possibility that tuners might swap in Japanese motors into American cars.^[21] According to SCC, 1 Mustang received the RB26 swap, while 5 other Mustangs were created for drifting purposes. 2 were destroyed in the process.^[22] In addition, the RB26 Mustang was shown to be faster than its V8 powered kin, with times of 0-60 in 5.38 seconds, and the quarter mile in 13.36 seconds at 109.83 MPH. The V8 powered machine was designed for drifting and suffered from no traction, while the inline 6 version was set strictly for straight line performance.^[23]

The S15 Silvia which Black's character trashes in his first race in Japan is depicted as having an RB26DETT engine swap which itself is donated to the Mustang. However, the car used was actually powered by the S15's base SR20DE engine.^[24] The Veilside Fortune body-kitted RX-7 driven by Sung Kang's character was originally built by Veilside for the 2005 Tokyo Auto Salon but was later bought by Universal and repainted (the original was dark red, not orange and black like in the film).^[25]

SCC tested the cars of the film, and noted that the cars in Tokyo Drift were slightly faster in an acceleration matchup with the cars from 2 Fast 2 Furious.^[26]

Notable drifting personalities Keiichi Tsuchiya, Rhys Millen, and Samuel Hubinette were consulted and employed by the movie to provide and execute the drifting and driving stunts in the film.^[27] Tanner Foust, Rich Rutherford, Calvin Wan, and Alex Pfeiffer were also brought in when it was revealed that none of Universal's own stunt drivers could drift.^[28]Some racing events were filmed within the Hawthorne Mall parking lot in Los Angeles. ^[29]

Toshi Hayama was also brought in to keep elements of the film portrayed correctly after being contacted by Roger Fan, an old high school friend that starred in Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow, the organizers of the Japanese series, and his former boss at A'PEXi. Among them are keeping certain references in check (the usage of nitrous oxide in straights but not in turns, keeping the usage of references from sponsors to a minimum, etc.).^[30] Hayama also claims that a prop car was "stolen" by some of the action stars and taken for an impromptu "Drift Session" and never returned by the stars.^[28]

Soundtrack

Main article: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (soundtrack)

References

The Fast and the Furious Films The Fast and the Furious (2001) · 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) · Tokyo Drift (2006) · Fast and Furious (2009) Soundtracks The Fast and the Furious · 2 Fast 2 Furious · Tokyo Drift Video games Arcade (2004) · Video Game (2006) · Super Bikes (2006) · Drift (2007)

Films directed by Justin Lin Shopping for Fangs (1997) · Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) · Spotlighting (2005) · Annapolis (2006) · The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) · Finishing the Game (2007) · Fast and Furious (2009)